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implemented a hangar opening, a single span of local wood, strong enough and wide enough to accommodate the long wingspans of the day.
But it’s important to understand how the area got to its current airport configuration. Portland has used two locations over the years for its major commercial airport – Swan Island from 1927 to 1940 and the floodplain of the Columbia River since 1940. The second site has seen repeated adjustments of runways and expansions and upgrades of terminal facilities. As of recently, it served millions of passengers with direct flights to almost 100 domestic and double-digit international destinations.
Swan Island was a marshy, undeveloped swampland in the mid-20s. A major dredging project moved the natural island and attached it to the east bank of the river. Con- struction of the airport by the Port of Portland began in 1926, and Swan Island Municipal Airport opened on September 14, 1927. Charles Lindbergh, who was on a nationwide tour flying The Spirit of St. Louis, took part in the opening ceremonies. The Oregon Journal reported that Lindbergh “landed like a feather with the punctuality of a crack railroad train.”
But as air travel increased and the needs of travelers outgrew the island site, it became apparent that Portland needed another airport. By 1935, Swan Island Airport had become obsolete. The small airfield couldn’t easily be expanded, nor could it accommodate the larger aircraft and passenger loads expected to become common in Portland. Plans immediately were conceived to relocate the outdated airfield to a larger site.
January 2024 / TWIN & TURBINE • 21